Scattered
by FoREVer Nightwing
Summary: Nightwing looks through a stack of photos of the team. Inspired by "Scattered" by Green Day.


**A/N: Inspired by "Scattered" by Green Day.**

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**Scattered**

_Life was so much simpler back then…_

Dick sat on his bed in his room at Mount Justice. Scattered all over the bed and the floor surrounding it was pictures of the team. Each one was a memory of their victories, their losses, and things outside of crime fighting.

Originally, these pictures were kept in a shoe box, since he was too busy to actually put them in an album. However, since he had a day off from crime fighting and he didn't have college for the next two weeks, Dick decided now was a good time to put the photos in an album.

Dick, having spent hours doing this kind of thing with Alfred for their albums at the manor, had taken about two hours to organize the photos by the time they were taken (thank god he wrote the dates on the back) into the globular formation only he would understand.

Dick had started putting some of the photos into the album when he came across the one that was taken on Halloween night on the year the team was formed. M'gann had invited him to a Halloween party at their school, but he had a meeting with Batman. He had told her that he'd show up later, and he did, dressed in his Robin costume. M'gann had asked why he did so, and he said that it was okay, because it was Halloween, and nobody would think that he was really Robin. He won the award for best costume (which caused Wally to be extremely jealous) and Mal took a picture of him, M'gann, Conner, and a very pissed Wally, with the small trophy in Dick's hands. M'gann had later given a copy of the photo to him.

He gave a small laugh when he put the photo into the album, looking over at the trophy that was sitting on his shelf. Then he moved on, putting a couple more photos into the album, and stopping at another one.

This one was taken on his fourteenth birthday. Wally had told Zatanna that it was his birthday, and Zatanna told M'gann, and M'gann told the rest of the team. Zatanna had kissed him on the cheek, something that caught him off-guard (which was very rare). The team threw him a surprise party, which he knew about, but played along anyway, since they went to so much trouble. The party pretty much ended when Wally ate all the cake, which caused Artemis to continually whack him with her bow. Dick had grabbed the camera that M'gann got him and took multiple pictures of it.

Dick placed the photo into the album and continued on until he came to another one.

This one was taken on his and Zatanna's first date. They decided to watch _Rocky Horror Picture Show_ at the cave. They got Conner to make sure Wally didn't come anywhere near them, since he had watched _Rocky Horror_ about a hundred times and would most likely spoil everything. Plus, Dick was in no mood to listen to the speedster's constant talking, especially since he had a pretty rough day in Gotham. Wally ended up watching the movie, even with Conner's (and Artemis') best efforts. Just before Wally spoiled something, Zatanna cast a spell that caused him to lose his ability to speak. After a good twenty minutes, he gave up trying to talk and sat quietly until the movie was over.

Dick put this picture and several others in the album until he came upon one that was taken a year and a half after the team was formed.

This one was at Gotham Academy's Jazz Festival. Artemis had bought tickets for the team to go, which was a real bother for Dick, since he was in both bands. He simply said that he had work at the job he recently got, which everyone (even Artemis, though she was extremely suspicious) bought. He managed to perform without the team recognizing him, even when his solo for _Gospel John_ came around. Wally had taken several pictures, including Dick's trumpet solo. He was pretty sure that Wally would drop several hints about his secret identity, but he didn't.

After putting that picture and a couple more in the album, he came across one from their second Christmas together.

Bruce was on an off-world mission, which disappointed Dick greatly, but he understood that it had to be done. This was also around the time he became Nightwing and they took in Jason, who became the new Robin. Dick gave a small chuckle, remembering how they'd absentmindedly call him Robin (after all, they've been calling him that since the day they met!) and suddenly remember that he wasn't Robin anymore. Anyway, on Christmas, when they started to exchange gifts, there was a great confusion with some of the gifts, since they had forgotten that Dick was Nightwing now. Actually, the only one who remembered was Conner, who was desperately trying to hide his laughter as they tried to figure out which present went to which bird. Twenty minutes later, they managed to sort it out, and at that point, Conner didn't bother hiding his laughter, Jason was grumbling, and Wally had managed to take a picture while everyone was distracted.

Dick placed that photo in the album until he came to one that brought a tear to his eye.

This picture had been taken just hours before Jason was killed. He and Jason were having a _Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe_ tournament, with the loser having to do dishes for the next month. When Dick lost to Jason in the final match, he tackled his little brother to the floor. Jason had won the tournament and yelled, "Dude, you got dish duty for the next month! Man, do I feel sorry for you… not!" That was when they were called into the briefing room, assigned the mission, and set off to stop the Joker… at a cost. Jason was beaten and killed in an explosion. His heart broke into a bunch of little pieces when he held his dead brother in his arms. Wally had given him the photo after Jason's funeral.

He wiped away the tears in his eyes and placed the photo in the album. He continued until he came across another one.

This was taken when Tim joined the team. It was also around the time when Wally and Artemis left. Dick had been training Tim since Bruce had pretty much drowned himself in work. Bruce didn't want another. It wasn't that he didn't like him… Tim was a great kid. He just didn't want to lose another Robin.

In Dick and Tim's eyes, though, they knew he **needed** a Robin.

Dick and Tim were sparring. Tim was still getting the hang of all the flips and twists that Dick had taught him, and he was having some trouble with his fighting abilities. After all, Tim is much more of a detective than a vigilante. But, he felt that it was his job to uphold the mantle of Robin, to prove to Bruce that he could do it.

After sparring, Dick invited Tim to go patrolling Bludhaven. Tim accepted eager to get a chance to fight with one of his heroes. They had taken down a drug ring that had been giving Dick a lot of trouble. Dick had taken a few pictures to show Bruce just how skilled Tim was. The next night, Tim was officially given the mantle of Robin, and Dick kept his favorite picture as a memory.

Dick placed that photo in the album and noticed that there was only a few left. He placed all but one of the remaining photos in their rightful place in the album.

This final photo was taken a few weeks ago. A lot had happened then. Dick graduated high school and moved on to the police academy, M'gann and Conner broke up, Tim's father was murdered, the team gained and lost members, and they've earned the respect of the entire Justice League. This particular photo was at that apartment Dick got in Bludhaven. He had told Artemis his identity- after all, if he didn't tell her, Wally probably would. He showed Wally and Artemis the picture he took so long ago of him and Artemis at Gotham Academy, the one that surprised Artemis so much. They then took a photo in the exact same pose, the only difference being Wally in the picture, and they laughed about it.

_We'll laugh about this someday…_

Dick smiled fondly at the memory. He placed the photo in the album, closed it, and placed it on the shelf.

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**A/N: QUACK, GODDAMMIT!**


End file.
